Exploring on your own

Now that you've used the pen tool to draw precise Bézier curves on the pear, try drawing the pear using the pencil tool to create a hand-drawn look. You can edit lines that you draw using the pencil tool to change their shape, and you can use the smooth tool and erase tool to edit the drawing further.

Open the L4start.ai file again, and save it as Pear2.ai.

Select the pencil tool (
) in the toolbox, and draw the pear in one continuous line without releasing the mouse button. To close the path, hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS)—a small circle appears on the pointer—and continue dragging to draw the end of the line connected to the starting point.

Anchor points are set down as you draw with the pencil tool, and you can adjust them once the path is complete. The number of anchor points is determined by the length and complexity of the path and by the tolerance values set in the Pencil Tool Preferences dialogbox. (Double-click the tool to display its preferences dialog box.)

Note

Note:You can draw and edit brushed paths with the paintbrush tool by using the same methods as for paths drawn with the pencil tool. (See Lesson 5, "Working with Brushes.")

Use the pencil tool (
) to edit the shape of the pear by redrawing segments on the path.

To change a path with the pencil tool
:

If the path you want to change is not selected, select it with the selection tool (
). Or Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (Mac OS) the path to select it.

Position the pencil tool on or near the path to redraw, and drag the tool until the path is the desired shape.

Figure . Using the pencil tool to edit a closed shape

Figure . Using the pencil tool to create an open shape

Depending on where you begin to redraw the path and in which direction you drag, you may get unexpected results. For example, you may unintentionally change a closed path to an open path, change an open path to a closed path, or lose a portion of a shape.

– From the Adobe Illustrator User Guide, Chapter 3

Use the smooth tool (
) to round out the shape of a curved segment (deleting anchor points if necessary).

The number of anchor points is determined by the length and complexity of the new path and by the tolerance values set in the Smooth Tool Preferences dialog box.

Smoothing the path with the smooth tool

The smooth tool lets you smooth out an existing stroke or section of a path. The smooth tool retains the original shape of the path as much as possible.

Figure . Stroke before and after using the smooth tool

To use the smooth tool:

If the path to smooth is not selected, select it with the selection tool (
). Or Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (Mac OS) the path to select it.

Do one of the following:

Select the smooth tool (
).

When the pencil or paintbrush tool is selected, hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) to change the pencil to the smooth tool.

Drag the tool along the length of the path segment you want to smooth out. The modified stroke or path may have fewer anchor points than the original.

Continue smoothing until the stroke or path is the desired smoothness.

Use the erase tool (
) to erase segments on the path of the pear, and then redraw them using the pencil tool (
).

Erasing the path with the
erase tool

The erase tool lets you remove a portion of an existing path or stroke. You can use the erase tool on paths (including brushed paths), but not on text or meshes.

Figure . Strokes before and after using the erase tool

Figure .

To use the erase tool:

Select the erase tool (
).

Drag the tool along the length of the path segment you want to erase (not across the path). For best results, use a single, smooth, dragging motion.